Global warming, which altered European winds, was partially to blame for flight disruptions in Europe caused by an ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano, the New Scientist has said, according to RIA Novosti.

Altered weather patterns worsened the effects of the eruption by causing ash clouds to stay over Europe for a longer period, according to Christophe Cassou and Eric Guilyardi of the European Centre for Research and Advanced Training in Scientific Computation in Toulouse, France.

The scientists have developed a climate model which shows that western winds common in the area are currently being blocked by a high-pressure weather system. Because of this, more and more ash-laden air is being blown over Europe.

“We predict that the frequency and length of blocking events will increase in a warmer climate,” Cassou was quoted as saying by the New Scientist.